Wetting



Feb. 14, 1956 D. F. JURGENSEN, JR

TOBACCO SHEET MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 20, 1951 FIG, 1

WETTING FILM FORMING SURFACE 2 Sheets-Shea DYEING UNDERSIDE 0F WEB MATERIAL APPLYING TOBACCO PARTICLES OR DUST TO WETTED SURFACE HEATING SURFACE TO EXPAND SAME (OPTIONAL) I REMOVING EXCESS TOBACCO FROM BOTH FACES OF FILM APPLYINCLAYER OF FILM FORMING FIBER CONTAINING MATERIAL TO TOBACCO ON SURFACE CUT AND PACK OR PROCESS APPLYING TOBACCO PARTICLES OR ousr TO LAYER 0F FILM FORMING MATERIAL 30 DRYING 028 J,

BRUSHING TOP OF EXPOSED SURFACE OF EB 34 I" DYEING EXPOSED SURFACE OF WEB (OPTIONAL) REMOVING FILM FROM FILM FORMING SURFACE INVENTOR DELBERT F. JURGEMSEN JR.

ATTRNEY Feb. 14, 1956 FORMING SURFACE ZZZ TO WETTED SURFACE Z24 CONTAINING MATERIAL SHEET OR FILM MATERIAL (OPTIONAL) D. F. JURGENSEN, JR

TOBACCO SHEET MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 20, 1951 FIG.3

WETTING FILM APPLYING TOBACCO PARTICLES OR DUST HEATING SURFACE TO EXPAND SAME APPLYING LAYER OF FILM FORMING FIBER TO TOBACCO ON SURFACE REDUCING MOISTURE CONTENT IN TOBACCO CUT AND PACK OR PROCESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4

HEATING FILM FORMING SURFACE TO EXPAND SAME (OPTIONAL) APPLYING TOBACCO PARTICLES OR DUST TO LAYER OF FILM FORMING MATERIAL DRYING BRUSI'IING TOP OF EXPOSED SURFACE OF WEB (OPTIONAL) DYEING TOBACCO WEB MATERIAL (OPTIONAL) REMOVING FILM FROM FILM FORMING SURFACE REDUCING MOISTURE CONTENT IN TOBACCO SHEET OR FILM MATERIAL REMOVING EXCESS TOBACCO FROM TOBACCO COATED FACE OF FILM CUT AND PACK OR PROCESS INVENTO DELBERT F. JURGE SEN JR.

GYM; Mm...

' AT ORNEY United States Patent O TOBACCO SHEET MATERIAL AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Delbert F. Jurgensen, Jr., Tuckahoe, N. Y., assignon to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application December 20, 1951, Serial No. 262,575

44 Claims. (Cl. 131-15) This invention relates to improved tobacco sheets, films, webs, strips and filaments, and to improved methods of producing the same.

The manufacturer of tobacco products generally buys tobacco in the form of whole leaves as removed from the tobacco plant by the farmer. In processing this tobacco, the stem is frequently first removed and then further processing proceeds as desired. In the case of a cigarette manufacturer, this processing includes aging, blending, casing and cutting the strip, which is the tobacco leaf portion or portions remaining after removal of the stem, into shreds and then drying, cooling and screening the shredded tobacco, followed by rolling into cigarettes and packaging. In all these operations, which involve much handling of the tobacco, waste fines and dust are formed. At the present time these waste materials, stems, field scrap (farm damaged leaves), fines and dust have essentially no value to the tobacco manufacturer, and are sold to manufacturers of fertilizers, insecticides, and others who use waste tobacco in their products at a fraction of a cent per pound. Much of this waste tobacco material is of good quality from a smoking standpoint. Indeed it is believed that this waste tobacco material contains a disproportionately high percentage of the very best quality smoking tobacco, since the latter comprises the thinnest, lightest, most friable leaves which would most readily break up into fine particles and dust on handling. These high quality fines are useless now only because of their physical form. A technique for processing this good tobacco into a form which would render it usable in smoking articles without essential change in its smoking characteristics would therefore be attractive to a tobacco manufacturer because it would increase the yield, and of course reduce manufacturing costs.

It has been suggested previously that tobacco sheets and films be made by wet milling a mixture of tobacco in water to form therefrom a slurry which can be converted, as by any well-known casting and drying method, into continuous self-supporting sheets and films.

Other attempts to solve the problem of forming a satisfactory tobacco sheet material could be cited, such as by forming tobacco paper using well-known paper making techniques. However, despite these attempts, little success has been achieved, and to our knowledge, none of these processes has ever been used commercially.

The present invention constitutes a solution to the problem of converting tobacco materials into webs, films, sheets or filaments which can be handled and used in the same manner as natural leaf tobacco in tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars and the like, and also in or for pipe tobacco, or with other tobacco products such as snuff or chewing tobacco. Films and webs, strips, sheets and filaments, made in accordance with my invention, are elastic, flexible, very tough, self-supporting and continuous, and possess dry and wet strengths comparable to that of natural leaves or pieces of tobacco, and in general retain substantially all natural characteristics and properties of tobacco, including color, aroma, and taste on smoking.

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This is necessarily true, since in accordance with my invention, the natural tobacco raw material is never subjected to any radical treatment, but is merely dry ground. The dry ground particles are adhered together into the form of a sheet or strip in a novel manner according to the invention by a small proportion of an innocuous film forming material, preferably a specially developed food adhesive, and admixed fibres. It will be evident, therefore, that the invention alters only the physical form of the tobacco used as the raw material.

The resulting tobacco sheet material has a high ratio of surface area to mass which causes it to ignite more readily and to burn more completely than natural tobacco of the same type would when used in smoking articles. This results in a smoother, milder, less irritating smoke.

The characteristic mildness of the smoke from tobacco sheets or strip made according to the invention is especially significant when certain harsh, low grades of tobacco are used as the raw material. Thus, the invention enables a quality improvement in low grade tobacco sufiicient to permit the use of the tobacco sheets or strip produced thereby in high quality smoking articles.

The strong, flexible nature of the reconstituted tobacco sheet produced in accordance with the invention yields long, strong and flexible shreds, which when used in a cigarette blend, tend to minimize the quantity of obiectionable shorts which fall out of the end of a cigarette or get onto a smokers tongue, and which may tend to cause non-uniform cigarettes. The invention therefore, contributes to decreased manufacturing costs by simplifying plant operations, and by reducing the amount of good tobacco material which is presently discarded as waste primarily because its physical form makes it unusable in the blend. In addition, the invention effects a quality improvement in cigarettes, since cigarettes containing shreds of tobacco or strip made in accordance with the invention, have less tendency to lose shorts from the ends than have cigarettes containing only natural tobacco shreds. It has also been observed that cigarettes containing tobacco sheet or web material strip made in accordance with the invention are milder, smoother, and less irritating than standard blend cigarettes. It is believed that this results from the poly-particulate structure of my novel strip which gives a very high ratio of surface to mass and extreme porosity, providing ready ignition and more complete burning. If desired, whole leaf tobacco or tobacco strip, the latter being a term wellknown in the trade including the thin lamina of a leaf minus the main portion of the stem or parts thereof, may be u1sed in forming my novel tobacco sheet or film materia The present invention constitutes an improvement to the invention disclosed and claimed in co-pending Hungerford and Williamson application, Serial Number 220,174, filed April 10, 1951 for Tobacco Sheet Material, Method of, and Apparatus for Making Same. The present invention includes the addition of suitable fibres to the material which is used in forming the supporting film. When said material is carboxymethylcellulose, it is found that with the addition of fibres such as glassine pulp, tobacco stem fibres, cigarette paper fibres and like innocuous fibres, less carboxymethylcellulose is required, a stronger end product results, and more important, when the resulting tobacco sheet or web material strip is used in smoking articles, a markedly improved smoke is obtained in that the smoke is more mild and less irritating to the throat.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved method of making tobacco sheets, strips, continuous webs, films or filaments, wherein fine tobacco particles or tobacco dust are adhered to both faces of a web of film forming material containing admixed fibres which form an integral part of the composite tobacco material produced.

it is a further object of my invention to provide an improved method of making self-supporting, continuous. flexible tobacco sheets, webs and the like in which a layer of tobacco dust is coated with a thin layer of a film forming material containing admixed innocuous fibres, the exposed surface of which is also coated with tobacco dust to form a composite tobacco sheet material consisting primarily of tobacco dust.

The invention further consists in the provision of an improved method of increasing the yield of tobacco by improving the physical characteristics of certain types of tobacco which normally are unsuitable for handling and processing into smoking articles by converting such tobacco into thin, self-supporting, tough, porous sheet form in which such tobacco in small particle size is adhered to both surfaces of a thin web of film consisting of an innocuous adhesive material and admixed fibres to form thereby a composite tobacco sheet material consisting principally of tobacco.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved method of making tobacco sheets, strip, continuous webs, films or filaments, wherein pure tobacco particles or dust are adhered to one face only of a web of film forming material containing admixed fibres which form an integral part of the composite tobacco material produced.

It is a further object of the invention to provide novel tobacco strip material, such as sheets, continuous webs, and the like wherein fine tobacco particles and/or dust are adhered to and intimately associated with a web of film forming material containing admixed fibres which form an integral part of the product produced, and wherein said film forming material and fibres have no deleterious effect upon the product when smoked.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain features which will be hereinafter fully described, and then set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and wherein the several reference characters designate the same or like elements:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic and diagrammatic illustration of a preferred method of carrying out the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a sheet of the tobacco material or film formed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic and diagrammatic illustration of a modified method of carrying out the invention: a

Fig. 4 shows a schematic and diagrammatic illustration of an additional method of carrying out the invention; and

Fig. 5 shows a sheet of the tobacco material or film produced in accordance with either of the methods shown in Figure 3 or 4.

Referring to Figure 1, which shows a schematic and diagrammatic illustration of the steps covering the preferred method of performing my invention, the method includes the step of applying a wetting film to the film forming surface of a suitable casting machine, designated generally 22. Reference is made to copending Hungerford and Williamson application, Serial Number 220,174, filed Apr. 10, 1951, and more specifically to Figure l of said application, which shows diagrammatically an endless belt, the surface of which is wetted as at 22 herein.

Following the wetting of the film forming surface, there is applied to the wetted surface as at 24 tobacco particles or dust. The tobacco dust or particles adhere to the wetted surface and forms a thin tobacco layer thereon. Any suitable innocuous type of wetting solution or liquid wetting material can be employed. It is found, however, that a liquid wetting material containing a low viscosity carboxymethyl cellulose not only performs admirably in bonding the tobacco dust or particles together in a thin layer, but also contributes to the resulting strength of the final product. A small quantity of suitable detergent, such as Dreft, may also be used in the wetting solution.

It has been found that unless the dimensions of the film forming surface or belt at certain stages of the drying process are controlled, undesirable checks and cracks may be formed in the web W. It is believed that these checks and cracks occur when the surface or belt, carrying an already solidified web W, is allowed to continue to rise in temperature, thus expanding the belt. Since the solidified web W adheres firmly to the film forming surface or belt and cannot stretch appreciably before cracking, expansion of the film-forming surface or belt could cause the observed cracks.

Since web W is normally solidified and set before it is completely dry, the film-forming surface or belt, carrying web W, normally is exposed to heat after solidification of the web takes place, in order to complete the drying. This heating expands the film-forming surface or belt and could cause checks and cracks. It has been found that if the film-forming surface or belt is heated before it enters the portion of the dryer where the web W has been solidified, the aforementioned checks and cracks are substantially prevented. Therefore, in order to insure that the composite tobacco sheet material web W will be substantially free of checks which would be undesirable, the film-forming surface or belt carrying the layer of tobacco dust or particles can be heated to expand the same slightly by means of any suitable heating device designated generally as 26.

Following the formation of the initial layer of tobacco dust upon the wetted film-forming surface, there is then applied to the layer of tobacco dust as at 28 a layer of film-forming, fibre-containing material. This layer of film-forming material is sprayed by means of any suitable spraying device, such as a conventional type of spray nozzle (not shown), which is moved back and forth across the belt (not shown) on which the sheet material is being formed. The film-forming material used in making the base web of my improved sheet or web material can be any film-forming material which possesses adequate strength and retains the tobacco particles well. It is essential that a film-forming material be used which has adhesive qualities and which, when the final tobacco sheet or web strip material is smoked, does not cause an unsatisfactory taste, aroma, or harshness. Suitable film-forming materials are water soluble salts of carboxymethylcellulose and carboxymethylhydroxyethylcellulose which are respectively salts of cellulose glycolic acid and cellulose hydroxy glycolic acid, the latter two acids being insoluble in water, but which are capable of being formed into stable water dispersions in a manner described in copending application, Serial Number 130,858, filed by Newton Heirnbach on December 2, 1949 for Water Insoluble Coatings, Films, and Adhesives and Method of Making Same. These dispersions are capable of being cast to form a wet web, which when dried, becomes a self-supporting, water insoluble film. The terms CMC and CMI-IEC where used herein, mean the free acid forms of cellulose glycolic acid or carboxymethylcellulose, and cellulose hydroxy glycolic acid or carboxymethylhydroxyethyl cellulose, respectively.

Representative dispersions which have made satisfactory tobacco strip are given as follows:

DISPERSIONS WITH VARIOUS FIBERS Example 1 Wood fiber:

1.80% CMC (free acid form) 0.45% Wood fiber (Solka Floc)(BW 200) 0.04% Calcium hydroxide 97.7 1 Water Example 2 Glassine pulp:

1.64% CMC (free acid form) 1.64% glassine pulp 0.49% glyoxal 96.23% water Example 3 Tobacco stem fibers:

1.16% CMC (free acid form) 2.32% tobacco stern fibers 9.35% glyoxal 96.17% water Example 4 Cigarette paper fiber:

0.83% CMC (free acid form) 4.17% cigarette paper fiber 0.25% glyoxal 94.75% water The above noted examples illustrate types of fibers which have been found satisfactory for inclusion in the novel tobacco strip material made in accordance with the invention. It is to be understood that in these examples, any of the fibers used can be substituted for the other, and furthermore, other fibers than those named specifically above, such as asbestos, and glass fibres, or mixtures of vegetable and mineral fibres, can be used as long as they have no deleterious effect on the smoking qualities and characteristics of the resulting tobacco strip material.

Dispersions, such as indicated in the examples above, can be prepared in any suitable manner, such as set forth in the above referred to Hungerford and Williamson application. A technique similar to that disclosed in the above referred to Heimbach application, may be used in forming a CMC dispersion.

A cross linking agent, such as glyoxal, may be added to improve further the water resistance of the already water resistant CMC. If desired, a humectant may be added to the film forming surface. When a humectant is used, it has been found that the quantity thereof required to maintain a given degree of pliability in the final sheet varies as the ratio of fibers to CMC is changed. It is preferred to use a minor quantity of humectant even in dispersions of high fiber to CMC ratio, however, to prevent excessive brittleness in the final film. An example is as follows:

Example 5 Glassine pulp:

1.64% CMC (free acid form) 1.64% glassine pulp 0.49% glyoxal 0.26% glycerine 95.97% water Experiments have shown that keeping the total weight of cellulosic material added per square foot of tobacco sheet material formed constant, and decreasing the ratio of CMC to fibers, result in a sheet having progressively lower loading of tobacco dust. To provide for aroma and taste, and proper burn when used in tobacco products used orally, such as smoking tobacco, and products such forming surface is passed through a suitable drying zone indicated generally at 32, where excess moisture is removed from the composite tobacco web thus formed. The next operation, designated 34, is to brush the top or exposed surface of the web by suitable brush means, such as rotary soft bristle brushes. In some instances it may be desired to dye or stain the resulting web or sheet material. If this is done, a dye, preferably an innocuous vegetable, edible type, is used and applied as by spraying, as designated generally at 36, to the upper or exposed surface of the web on the travelling film-forming surface. The moisture in the dye also serves to rehumidify the web and is of assistance in removing the web from the film forming surface by any conventional suitable means, designated generally at 38, such as a doctor blade (not shown). The underside of the web may be dyed, if desired, in the same manner as the upper surface. This is designated generally at 40, after which the moisture content in the film or sheet material may be reduced to any desirable content, such for example as 104570. The web is then subjected to the step of removing any excess tobacco from both faces of the film as indicated at 44. Suitably rotary brushes (not shown) may be employed for this purpose. This mechanism can be the same as that indicated in the Hungerford and Williamson application referred to above.

Following the step of removing excess tobacco from both faces of the web or film material, the web of tobacco strip material, as shown diagrammatically in Figure 2, is cut into desired sizes for packing and future shipment to cigarette, cigar or other manufacturing plants for conversion into smoking articles. Or, the finished product may be shredded directly into a size suitable for admixing with shredded cigarette tobacco and ultimate formation into cigarettes.

Figure 3 shows a modified method of practicing the invention. This method includes several of the same general steps as the preferred method described above and disclosed in Figure 1, except that the final product is tobacco sheet or web or strip material having fine tobacco dust or particles on one face of the film forming material such as shown in Figure 5.

According to the modified method, the film forming surface of a suitable casting or forming machine, designated generally 122, is wetted. There is then applied to the wetted surface, as at 124, fine tobacco particles or dust which adhere thereto and form a substantially uniform layer thereon. As in the preferred method, if desired, the film forming surface which can be a stainless steel belt, may be heated as at 126. It has been found that this step substantially eliminates checks and cracks in the final product.

There is then applied to the layer of tobacco dust and/or fine particles, as at 128, a layer of film forming fibre containing material having the same composition and formed in the same manner as that described above in connection with the preferred method. The composite layer is then dried as indicated at 132, excess moisture is removed, and the resulting tobacco film or strip material a layer of adhesive material is coated with tobacco particles, whereas in the method illustrated by Fig. 3 a layer of tobacco particles is coated with adhesive. The final product, however, differs from the product of Figure l and shown in Figure 2, in that it has tobacco dust or fine particles on one face of the film forming material, as shown in Figure 5. In this figure, it will be noted that the tobacco dust and particles are intimately associated with the film forming layer and with each other.

In the method disclosed in Figure 4, if desired, film forming surface 226 of a suitable casting machine such for example as an endless stainless steel continuously driven belt, is heated to expand it laterally. The reason for this step is explained hereinabove. There is then applied to the surface of the belt, as at 228, a thin layer of film forming fibre containing material such as described above in connection with the preferred method. While the layer of film forming material is wet and adhesive, there is applied thereto as by blowing or in any other suitable manner, a substantially heavy covering or layer of fine tobacco particles. This is indicated at 230 in Figure 4. As in the methods described above, the tobacco particles and dust adhere to and are suspended in the wet adhesive film forming material and are also in closely adjoining relationship relative to each other. The composite web or sheet is then dried to reduce moisture content as at 232, after which, if desired, excess tobacco, which has not become associated in the composite tobacco sheet or film material, is brushed as at 234, and the loose particles and dust are returned by a suitable device (not shown) for re-use.

In some cases it is desirable to control the color of the resulting novel tobacco product. Therefore at 236 there is indicated the optional step of dyeing the web. The web or strip material is then removed from the film forming surface, as indicated at 238. This can be effected by a doctor blade (not shown) or in any other known manner. The dyeing operation can also be performed on both surfaces of the sheet or web of tobacco material after it is removed from the film forming surface. Upon removal of the tobacco sheet or web or strip material from the film forming surface, it is passed through a moisture reducing device of any conventional design, indicated at 242, whereupon moisture content is reduced to any desired content, usually between 10 and 15 per cent. It is then subjected to removal of excess tobacco, designated 244, after which it is ready for cutting to size and packing or processing into personally consumed products such as cigarettes and like smoking articles, pipe tobacco, snuff and the like, as indicated at 246.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the specific method steps for carrying out the method which is set forth herein by way of illustration, as it is readily apparent that changes and variations may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

What I claim is:

l. The method of forming self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising applying a liquid wetting material to a film forming surface, depositing a layer of fine tobacco particles upon said wetted film forming surface, coating said layer of tobacco particles with an adhesive film forming material containing admixed fibres. and depositing a layer of fine tobacco particles upon the exposed wet adhesive surface of said film forming material to form said strip material.

2. The method of forming self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising tem porarily adhering a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles upon a film forming surface, coating said layer of tobacco particles with a thin layer of a film forming material containing admixed fibres, depositing a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles upon the exposed wet surface of said film forming material to form said strip material, drying said strip material, removing said strip material from said surface, brushing excess and loose tobacco particles from both faces of said strip material and recovering said tobacco particles thus removed for subsequent use.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said fibres are glassine pulp fibres.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said fibres are tobacco stem fibres.

5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said fibres are cigarette paper fibres.

6. The method of producing continuous, self-supporting tobacco strip material comprising applying a liquid wetting material to a film forming surface, depositing a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco upon said wetted surface, coating said layer of finely divided tobacco adhering to said surface with a thin layer of an aqueous dispersion of a flexible film forming material containing admixed fibres, depositing a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco upon the exposed wet surface of said layer of film forming material, drying said composite tobacco strip material thus produced and removing excess finely divided tobacco from the faces of said composite tobacco strip material.

7. The method defined in claim 6 including the steps of expanding said film forming surface beneath said film forming material prior to the drying of said composite sheet or web whereby to prevent checking and cracking of said sheet or web, and humidifying said resulting strip material to a moisture content between 10 and 15%.

8. The method of forming self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising forming a dispersion of cellulose ether derivative which is substantially water insoluble when dry, said dispersion containing fibres, temporarily adhering a layer of fine tobacco particles to a film forming surface, coating said layer of fine tobacco particles with said dispersion, and adhering said particles of said layer of tobacco particles thereto, and thereby forming a substantially continuous film on said surface, depositing a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco upon the wet exposed surface of said film of film forming material, drying said composite tobacco loaded strip material thus produced, removing said composite tobacco loaded strip material from said surface, and removing tobacco particles not adhered to said tobacco strip material.

9. The method of forming self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip material comprising adhering a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles on a film forming surface, coating said layer of tobacco particles with a flexible film forming dispersion containing a film forming material having natural adhesive qualities and fibres dispersed therein, and wherein the ratio of film forming material to fibres is greater than one to ten, depositing a layer of fine tobacco particles upon the exposed wet adhesive surface of said fibre containing film or film forming material, drying said film, and removing the resulting composite tobacco strip material from said surface.

10. The method defined in claim 9 wherein said film forming material is cellulose glycolic acid.

11. The method defined in claim 9 wherein said film forming material is carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose.

12. The method of forming self-supporting continuous tobacco sheet or strip material comprising forming a thin layer of an adhesive film forming tobacco free material from an aqueous dispersion containing fibres substantially free from deleterious effect as regards tobacco, adhering a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles upon at least one side of said layer of film forming material while wet and adhesive, whereby said tobacco particles become intimately associated with said film forming material and adjoining tobacco particles, and then removing excess moisture to produce said tobacco sheet or strip material.

13. The method of forming self-supporting continuous tobacco sheet or strip material comprising adhering a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco on a film supporting and forming surface, coating said layer of finely divided tobacco particles with a substantially water insoluble film forming material containing fibres, said film forming material and said fibres being substantially free from deleterious effects upon tobacco, and intimately adhering said particles to said film forming material and adjoining particles, and drying said film forming material to produce said tobacco sheet and strip material.

14. The method defined in claim 13 wherein said film forming material comprises carboxymethylcellulose.

15. The method defined in claim 13, wherein said film forming material comprises carboxymethylcellulose.

16. The method defined in claim 8 wherein said film forming material comprises hydroxyethyl carboxymethylcellulose, and said fibres are in a ratio range of one part by weight carboxymethylcellulose and ten parts by weight fibres.

17. The method defined in claim 8 wherein said film forming material is in the form of a dispersion comprising cellulose glycolic acid and fibres.

18. The method defined in claim 12 including the steps of removing excess tobacco from said tobacco sheet or strip material, and humidifying said resulting tobacco sheet or strip material to approximately a -15% moisture content.

19. The method defined in claim 13 including the steps of removing excess tobacco from said tobacco sheet or strip material, and humidifying said resulting tobacco sheet or strip material to approximately a 10-15% moisture content.

20.. The method of forming thin flexible self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip material upon a film forming surface comprising applying substantially uniformly upon said surface a thin adhesive layer of flexible film forming material having fibres suspended therein, applying a thin substantially uniform layer of tobacco dust and particles upon the adhesive exposed surface of said film forming material, drying said tobacco impregnated fibre-containing film, removing excess tobacco dust from the faces of the resulting composite tobacco strip material, dyeing said composite strip material, and cutting said films to desired size.

21. The method defined in claim 12 wherein said film forming material comprises carboxymethylcellulose.

22. The method defined in claim 21 including the steps of removing excess tobacco from said tobacco sheet or strip material, and humidifying said resulting tobacco sheet or strip material to approximately a 10-15% moisture content.

23. The method of forming self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising forming a dispersion of a film forming material which is substantially water insoluble when dry, said dispersion containing fibres, temporarily adhering a layer of fine tobacco particles to a film forming surface, applying said dispersion upon said layer of fine tobacco particles on said film forming surface and forming a continuous film to which said tobacco particles of said layer adhere, depositing a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco upon the wet exposed surface of said film of film forming material, drying said composite tobacco loaded strip material thus produced, removing said composite tobacco loaded strip material from said surface, and removing tobacco particles not adhered to said tobacco strip material.

24. The method of producing self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising applying a liquid wetting agent to a moving surface, applying finely divided tobacco substantially uniformly over said wetted portion of said moving surface, forming a dispersion of cellulose glycolic acid and admixed vegetable fibres, applying said dispersion in a thin substantially continuous layer upon finely divided tobacco adhering to said surface and binding said tobacco particles forming said layer together, applying a substantially uniform coating of finely divided tobacco upon the wet exposed surface of said cellulose glycolic acid dispersion layer, drying the resulting composite fibre-containing strip material, humidifying said strip material to between 10 and 15% moisture content, removing said strip material from said surface, and cutting said strip material into sheets or filaments.

25. The method of forming self-supporting continuous reconstituted tobacco strip material comprising applying a liquid wetting material to a film forming surface, depositing a layer of fine tobacco particles upon said wetted film forming surface, coating said layer of tobacco particles with an aqueous dispersion of an adhesive film forming material selected from the class consisting of cellulose glycolic acid and carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose, containing admixed fibers, and depositing a layer of fine tobacco particles upon the wet exposed adhesive surface of said film forming material to form tobacco strip material.

26. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco sheet and film material comprising a thin flexible web of a substantially water insoluble cellulose derivative film forming material and admixed fibres suspended therein, said web having adhered to its surfaces substantially uniform layers of fine tobacco particles.

27. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip material comprising a thin continuous film of cellulose glycolic acid and admixed fibres suspended therein, said film having attached thereto by the adhesive properties of said cellulose glycolic acid substantially uniform coatings of fine tobacco particles, said particles adhering to both faces of said film.

28. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip material comprising a substantially continuous matrix formed of cellulose glycolic acid and admixed fibres, and having adhering thereto and forming an integral part of said sheet and film material substantially uniform layers of finely divided tobacco.

29. Composite self-supporting continuous tobacco strip material comprising a central supporting film formed from a naturally adhesive tobacco free film forming material, and fibres suspended in said film, said film being coated on both surfaces with substantially uniform layers of finely divided tobacco particles adhered thereto by the natural adhesive properties of said film.

30. Composite self-supporting continuous tobacco strip material comprising a central supporting film of cellulose glycolic acid and fibres substantially innocuous to tobacco as regards its natural characteristics and properties suspended in said film, said film being coated on both surfaces with substantially uniform layers of finely divided tobacco particles adhered thereto by the natural adhesive properties of said film.

31. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco sheet and film material as defined in claim 26, wherein said film forming material comprises cellulose glycolic acid.

32. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco sheet and film material as defined in claim 26, wherein said film forming material comprises carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose.

33. The tobacco sheet and web material defined in claim 26 wherein the ratio of film forming material to said admixed fibres ranges between 1:025 and 1210 parts by weight on a dry basis per unit area.

34. The tobacco sheet and web material defined in claim 26 wherein the ratio of film forming material to said admixed fibres is greater than 1:10 parts by weight on a dry basis per unit area.

35. The tobacco sheet and web material defined in claim 34 wherein said film forming material is cellulose glycolic acid.

36. The tobacco sheet and web material defined in claim 34 wherein said film forming material is carboxymethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose.

37. The tobacco strip defined in claim 35 wherein said fibres are vegetable fibres, said fibres being substantially free from deleterious efiects upon said tobacco as regards the smoking characteristics and properties of tobacco when said tobacco sheet and web material is burned.

38. The tobacco strip defined in claim 37 wherein said fibres are substantially inert mineral fibres, said fibres being substantially free from deleterious effects upon said tobacco as regards the smoking characteristics and properties of tobacco when said tobacco sheet and web material is burned.

39. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip comprising a thin flexible web of a cellulose derivative film forming material and admixed fibres suspended therein, said web having adhered to at least one of its surfaces a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles.

40. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco strip comprising a thin continuous film of cellulose glycolic acid and admixed fibres suspended therein, said film having attached thereto by the adhesive properties of said cellulose glycolic acid a substantially uniform coating of fine tobacco particles, said particles adhering to one of said faces of said film.

41. Self-supporting continuous composite tobacco sheets and film material comprising a substantially continuous matrix formed of cellulose glycolic acid and admixed fibres, and having adhering thereto and forming an integral part of said sheet and film material a substantially uniform layer of finely divided tobacco.

42, Composite self-supporting continuous tobacco sheets and films comprising a central supporting film of cellulose glycolic acid and fibres substantially innocuous to tobacco as regards its natural characteristics and properties suspended in said film, said film being coated on one surface thereof with a substantially uniform layer of 12 finely divided tobacco particles adhered thereto by the natural adhesive properties of said film.

43. The tobacco sheet material defined in claim 35 wherein said fibres are commingled vegetable and mineral fibres substantially innocuous to tobacco as regards its natural characteristics and properties when smoked.

44. Self supporting continuous composite tobacco strip material comprising a thin flexible web of cellulose derivative film forming material at least one component of which is selected from the class consisting of cellulose glycolic acid and hydroxyethyl carboxymethyl cellulose, and admixed fibers suspended therein, said web having adhered to at least one of its surfaces a substantially uniform layer of fine tobacco particles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 46,233 Hale Feb. 7, 1865 85,369 Consuegra et al Feb. 2, 1869 105,160 Antiguedad July 12, 1870 246,117 Funke Aug. 23, 1881 253,841 Carpenter Feb. 21, 1882 267,764 Wood Nov. 21, 1882 445,438 Bingham Jan. 27, 1891 611,107 Dillon Sept. 20, 1898 872,987 Capehart Dec. 3, 1907 888,743 Rogers May 26, 1908 2,188,901 Hyatt et a1. Feb. 6, 1940 2,307,088 Whitley Jan. 5, 1943 2,327,991 Betts Aug. 31, 1943 2,534,113 Egger Dec. 12, 1950 2,592,553 Frankenburg Apr. 15, 1952 2,592,554 Frankenburg Apr. 15, 1952 2,706,695 Frankenburg Apr. 19, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 615 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1865 186,719 Germany June 6, 1907 658,632 Germany Apr. 6, 1938 661,168 Germany June 13, 1938 

